so these sorts of candies are, surprisingly, not made from gelatin - they're practically pure sugar. in this particular brand, gluten is used as the binding agent, thus the inclusion of wheat flour (though airheads use taffy)
the sugar obviously dissolved into the water, but the crystals on the outside of the candy also dissolved - they're citric acid crystals, dusted on to give a sour taste when they dissolve in the mouth! candy companies use citric acid as a sour flavouring agent because it naturally occurs in a lot of the stuff we eat and is fairly safe, just don't, like, inhale it
so what you've ended up with is a solution of citric acid, sugar, gluten, and whatever the fuck they put in energy drinks these days. go forth knowing that you have made the ultimate weapon against people with celiac disease
